Directions: You will participate in a simulation in which you design and establish a government for you and your classmates.  To help you prepare, read the Background Belief.  Then answer the questions.

Background Belief

As the smoke clears, you take stock of the situation.

Your plane has crash-landed.  Just a few minutes before the crash, you and your fellow students had been flying high over the Pacific on your way to Japan to participate in an exchange program. Then something went terribly wrong and the pilot was forced to land on a small and remote island.  Some students are injured and require care.  As they are attended to, others set out to explore the island.  A few hours are enough to see all the island has to offer.  There is a clear spring for water, and plenty of wild fruits, vegetables, and game.  There are trees for firewood and building shelter.  The plane is in pretty good shape and your group is able to salvage much – first-aid kits, clothing, and so on – from the wreckage.  So far so good.  “We can survive here,” you think to yourselves.  

There’s bad news, too.  The pilot informs you that he was off course -- he’s unsure of your location.  Worse, because the crash happened so quickly, he didn’t have time to issue a distress signal.  The radio was destroyed in the crash.  The news sinks in – you may all be here for a very long time.

Motivated by your common need for survival, you cooperate – one group builds crude shelters, while another gathers food.  After a few days of steady work, everyone is comfortable.  After a few weeks, a routine has settled in.

The first sign of trouble comes from one student who refuses to take his turn to collect water from the spring.  Other students support him.  They wander off, refusing to do the work necessary for survival on the island.  A few students start to build a boat, hoping to sail to safety.  It’s just big enough for them.  Another group begins to build its own shelters on the far side of the island; they are planning to establish a separate community.  The different groups of students begin to compete for the island’s dwindling resources.  Your once cohesive group is splitting up.

If something is not done, disaster will result.  It is clear that you need rules to govern your group.  You need a code of conduct.  You need a common purpose.  You will have to create a government.

 Explain why you and your classmates would need a government in this situation.

 Given this situation, how do you think you should go about the process of creating a government?